Comments by pointssouth

Welcome to BP Part Deux on a much smaller scale but all the good times associated with the "Unified Command" model and the incompetence of the federal flacks running the show. Unfortunately they will get away with it due to not as big, not as much attention gets paid. Plains is nowhere near as evil as BP but the government agencies operate off the circle the wagons school of public information.

On the plus side wouldn't put it pass some of the spinmeisters at EPA and USCG to to screw it up along way and a few bureaucrats careers to end. Amazingly FHMSA with no profile at the UC JIC pressers has provided most real info so far with corrective orders posted to their site.

While Plains has downplayed points of its safety record referring to their overall size as why they might have other violations, one can also look at their record in Canada which has some rather large "accidents" as well. They have repeatedly talked about how the Midland Control monitors the line, how many people work Midland control? How many miles of pipeline does it control, and how many miles per operator? how does a notification of a incident work there? It's likely one might not feel comforted by the answers.

In addition the USCG seems to be repeating the errors of management made during the BP Spill in the Gulf (on a much smaller scale). That alone is nerve wracking in that the playbook for the response seems to have remained the same, and the enforcement agencies are part of a "Unified Command". Watch any presser and see who actually talks the most and controls the discussion its not our government agencies... Im not so worried about the pipeline spill as I am the fact of inadaquate early response and weak performance by the agencies involved.

And as a final aside heres two items about the response which illustrate that:1) EPA saying couldnt have volunteers until trained because might disturb cultural sites when cleaning beach, thats different than people using the beach on any given day prior to spill?2) its been well documented that people who called animal rescue often had a hour or longer wait for response. At any time the agencies involved could have demanded more resources brought in for that to cut response time but didn't even though financial responsibility rests with PAAP.

While I don't agree with the News Press or subscribe ( or probably their motivation for the request ) it's not a popularity contest. The city if it received a proper FOIA request should turn over the documents. The Indy should also have probably printed the usual "and a former reporter" disclosure just saying.

Best way to see festival is with a WWOz brass pass, gives you in and outs during the fest, otherwise can be a long day. If you are just going for one weekend you can split the cost with someone going the other weekend.

Extremely shoddy journalism and ethics by the Independent to include the News Press points in the article, which proves yet again that they are no better than the SBNP. Its time to stop giving the Indy a pass because they are just as bad as wicked Wendys rag.

So he is only going to raise $125,000 for a private event that will cost the taxpayers a few million in security and travel costs? The Democratic National Committee and the (Republican National Committee for when they do this) should be ashamed of themselves. If he was coming for public events or even vacation it could be justified, but the 2nd Lady of the United States doing a last minute "presser" is not a public visit.

Some people need to cut the "Liberal" label on this. I'm liberal and don't have a problem calling Asst. Professor Miller Young's actions wrong. Your comments pretty much put you in the same camp as those who would try to find her actions defensible, the professor herself, and the protestors - that of a zealot well beyond the right or left and off into the fanatical zone of the spectrum.

Reading this, the professor's unrepentant attitude is whats going to guarantee prosecution in some form.

The only legal issues will be theft and assault - odds are the faculty member and students are charged with slap on the hand misdemeanors. They also will have to deal with punishment from the University if it chooses to get involved, with Miller-Young probably dashing her future with the UC system due to a error in judgement.

-The other issues some have tried to wave are bogus - its a open campus as spoken to by the University spokesperson in the article regardless what sbreader says (hint might want to read the article)-You can pursue someone who has stolen your property, and since Miller-Young can be seen directing the students in the video, she would be viewed as a accomplice or party to the theft. - Its offensive without a doubt but since photos of victims of air raids/tortured animals etc have been viewed at the free speech area presented by other groups in the past. A precedent already exists that it doesn't rise to a level where you can argue it could be banned. -Its doesn't rise to grand theft (its a homemade poster) nor strong arm since there was not a implied threat of violence.

The free speech issue while its clear it was infringed on, should present no legal peril to them as it would take a Federal prosecution or CA DOJ to really do anything about that, which won't happen. Miller-Young and friends took the bait from some zealots and will now have to pay a price for their lack of restraint.